By Garrett Stack
The Herald Bulletin
ALEXANDRIA — Trying to keep a 1,000-pound cow from doing whatever it wants can be very tricky, especially in front of a judge and a large crowd.
But that was the task of four contestants competing for the supreme showmanship prize at the Madison County 4-H Fair on Wednesday.
Each contestant had to show a pig, a goat, a sheep and a cow. All of the animals were randomly chosen for the contestants, so they were not familiar with the creature before they had to walk it around the ring.
“I had the most trouble with the cows,” said Stephanie Morris, 13, from Elwood. “It wanted to jump up on every other animal.”
Morris struggled to contain the giant steer, and having worked mostly with swine and sheep previously, she was not overly familiar with handling cattle.
“The sheep gave me the most trouble,” said champion Alyson Alcala, 16, from Summitville. “The yearlings that we had in the sheep department were a little jumpy.”
But forcing the animals to stand still and walk where they were directed was only a part of the competition. The other portion was supplied by the judge, who asked the contestants questions to test their knowledge.
“The showing is about 60 percent of it, and answering questions is the other 40 percent,” said competition judge Tracie Egger, the assistant director of academic progress in agriculture at Purdue University. “If they are not familiar with the species, the questions could be very tricky. They really had to do their homework.”
Contestants were asked specific questions about the animals while holding onto the creatures and making them stand still, which is a trial itself.
“We had to estimate the weights, the breeds and the ages of the animals,” Morris said. “It’s especially hard with an animal that you haven’t been around.”
Morris, who was defeated by her cousin Alyson Alcala, was upset by the loss, but refuses to give up.
“I’m glad that my cousin won, but I plan on working harder and trying again next year,” she said. “I’m going to study, work more on questions and work more with the cow.”
Alcala is proud of her win, but she does not have too much time to rest before she has to do it all over again.
“I have one week before I start getting ready for the state fair,” she said. “I hope to do good there, but it feels good to win here. I worked really hard to get where I am.”
Egger said that all of the contestants in the competition worked hard, and that the decision was a close one.
“They are right at the top level of showmanship and were all very well prepared,” she said. “These kids all want to win, but the animal can tell when you are nervous, so the winner had the poise and ability to do everything.”
Contact Garrett Stack: 640-4878, garrett.stack@heraldbulletin.com
Supreme showmanship contestants
The winner:
• Alyson Alcala, Summitville, has been in 4-H for eight years. She was the winner of the sheep showmanship competition.
The rest of the field:
• Stephanie Morris, Elwood, has been in 4-H for five years. She was the winner of the swine showmanship competition.
• Glena Murray, Pendleton, has been in 4-H for eight years. She was the winner of the goat showmanship competition.
• Mitchell Smith, Elwood, has been in 4-H for six years. He was the winner of the beef showmanship competition.
Schedule of events
9 to 11 a.m. — Tag Steers for Livestock Sale
9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. — 4-H Building Open
9:30 a.m. — Pocket Pets, Check-in time, Kiwanis Room 4-H Building
10 a.m. — 4-H Tractor Driving Contest, East Parking Lot
Noon-11 p.m. — Food concessions open
1 p.m. to 10 p.m. — Home show building and outside displays open
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. — Bracelet Day for Luehr’s Spectacular Rides
5 p.m. — Luehr’s rides continue
5:30 p.m. — 4-H Livestock Sale, Show Arena
7:30 p.m. — Music by Woody Wright with Stephen Hill, Triumphant Quartet and Joshua’s Vision.
